Natalie vs Beckett
by Michelle285
Summary: What happens when Beckett gets jealous of Natalie?  Does it result in Beckett and Castle getting together or being forced apart?


_Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. Although I wish I did…last night's episode wouldn't have been as great if I did. _

_ A/N: I loved last night's episode! It was too funny! It also inspired me to write and post my first Caskett fic. I know this is out of order from the way it happened in the episode, but I needed it to go this way for my story. If it bugs you, sorry. Oh, and, Gina and Josh, well, they don't exist in my Caskett world. I hope you enjoy! _

"You said no," Kate said, coming up to Castle in the break room.

Castle wrinkled his forehead. Usually his Beckett radar did a pretty good job of deciphering what she meant, but he was a little off today with the two of them. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You said no," Kate repeated. "To Natalie. Last night."

Castle's eyes widened just a little. "How did you know about that?"

"She just told me," Kate explained. "After asking if you were gay."

Castle spit out the coffee he had just taken a sip of. He coughed for a few minutes, looking like he was trying to get a word in and Kate smiled. "My exact words. Oh, and I was able to get a no in there too."

"She thought I was gay?" Castle exclaimed.

"She also thought we were an item," Beckett added. "You know, she may be a top actress, but her detective skills need some work."

Castle laughed. "You can't blame her for the last one. Most people think we're an item."

"Really?" Beckett asked. She wasn't so sure she liked the idea of that.

Castle shrugged, not wanting to answer her. "What else did Natalie say?"

"She was just saying she needed the full Nikki Heat experience," Beckett relayed. She was struggling with herself, trying to decide if she should admit the next part, but her mouth began to move without her brain's consent. "She asked me if I would give you permission to sleep with her. Like I would actually have a say in whom you choose to sleep with!" Beckett walked towards the door after that.

After she walked out, Castle whispered, "You could, you know."

-%

"She took my coffee!" Beckett cried, once they were alone. "What's next? My soul!"

"It's just coffee," Castle said, trying unsuccessfully to calm her down.

"I don't like her, Castle," Beckett said. "I don't like her."

"You're the one who—"

"I don't care!" Beckett shouted. "I want her gone!"

Castle slightly tilted his head. "Why is this bothering you so much?"

"She took my coffee!" Beckett reiterated.

Castle called her bluff. "I don't think that's it. This is much more than just a no coffee infuriation."

Later, Beckett would blame it on her lack of coffee. Later, Beckett would find millions of things to blame it on, but right now, she just wanted to tell him.

"You weren't supposed to like her," Beckett admitted. "I knew you didn't like her as an actress and I figured having her here would get on your nerves. I also knew that she would be here to study me, and nothing you said would even matter to her. I thought it would be fun to see you get annoyed and make a fool out of yourself trying to get her to notice you. It was a lot of fun at first. But then, all of a sudden, I see you liking her. I see you kissing her! None of this was supposed to happen! You were supposed to hate her!"

It took Castle's brain just a minute to catch up. So, she invited Natalie here in the hopes that Castle would hate her and that Castle would get annoyed at her lack of attention to him. He realized what a dedicated actress she was and he started to like her and that made Beckett…jealous? "Are you jealous?"

That snapped Beckett's brain back to where it should be. "No! Why in the world would I be jealous?"

She started to walk away, when Castle grabbed her arm. "Natalie forced herself on me last night and you're afraid I liked it. Natalie wants your permission to sleep with me, and you won't give it because you say it's not your place, but you're afraid I'll do it anyway and I'll like it. You're afraid because she's the fictional version of Nikki Heat, I'll like her better than you."

Beckett rolled her eyes and tried to sniff Castle's coffee. She had to keep up her professional façade, even though everything he said was true. He didn't have or need to know that…ever. "What did they put in that coffee?"

"I'm so sick of this, Beckett!" Castle roared. He tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her into an interrogation room. He shoved the door shut and slammed his coffee down on the table.

"Let go of my arm," Beckett growled. Nobody got away with manhandling her, not even Richard Castle.

Castle stood his ground. "Not until you hear me out. You can say you're not jealous and expect me to believe you, but if that's true, then why do your eyes tell a different story? Natalie forced herself on me last night, saying she needed the real Nikki Heat experience, but I have been waiting since day one for you to grant me the privilege to kiss you. Natalie wants to sleep with me for one night, since that's what happened with Nikki, but I want you to let me into your bed for the rest of your life. You think I'm going to like Natalie because she's the live Nikki Heat…" Castle raked his eyes down her body and then back up again to her eyes. "But Kate Beckett is always going to be better than Nikki Heat."

Castle let go of her arm and it dropped limply to her side. He used his first finger to gently close her mouth, since it had dropped open with his speech. He then picked up his coffee and walked out of the room. Beckett stood, stunned, in the room for a few more minutes until Ryan and Esposito walked in cautiously.

"The cheating husband is here," Ryan said. "Do you want to talk to him now or…" He trailed off as he saw Beckett slightly shaking her head.

"Do we need to murder Castle?" Esposito asked.

Beckett shook her head again. "Did he leave?"

"He's out there," Ryan tilted his head toward the bull pen. "He's talking to Creepy Beckett."

"We're in here, hiding from her," Esposito finished Ryan's thought.

Beckett let a small smile grace her lips. "Did he look like he was going to leave?"

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other, and then back at Beckett. They shrugged their shoulders.

Beckett took a deep breath. She was a cop, a damn good one and she was always professional. Nobody should be able to shake her like this and she knew she had to get out there and interrogate their suspect. She knew though that she couldn't do it feeling like this. "Give me a few minutes and I'll go question the guy."

"We can do it," Ryan offered. Esposito agreed with a quick nod of his head. Beckett rolled her lips together. She was a professional, she could interrogate this suspect, but letting Ryan and Esposito do it just sounded so good right now. _No!_ She was not going to let Castle get to her…at least not yet. "It's fine," Beckett told them. "I'll do it. Give me one more minute."

Ryan and Esposito nodded and walked out of the room. They could both tell Beckett had been shaken by whatever Castle said, but they hoped she wasn't going to ignore it because they knew it would be good for her.

-%

"Hey," Castle said. It was later that night and everyone had gone home, everyone except Beckett that is. Castle had stayed too. He didn't feel comfortable going home just yet and he thought Beckett would maybe need someone to bounce ideas off. He wasn't exactly sure if he would be the best person to be her sounding board, since she was likely very mad at him.

Beckett turned away from the white board where she was erasing everything Natalie had written and was re-writing it. She didn't like that Natalie had taken her marker and messed with her whiteboard. "Hey."

"I thought we could go over what we know on the case without your shadow watching our every move," Castle suggested.

"You are my shadow," Beckett reminded him.

"Your annoying shadow watching our every move," Castle amended.

"_You_ are annoying," Beckett said, repeating what she had told him a thousand times.

Castle playfully narrowed his eyes. "You wound me, Detective! I would like to think I've gotten better since I started following you. I would also like to think I'm more than just your shadow!"

Beckett tried to hide her smile. "Suit yourself. Anyway, we don't really have any more on the case yet. I'm sure Natalie told you everything we knew before she left."

Castle shrugged his shoulders and began to walk away. Beckett didn't know what came over her (this time she had her coffee), but she shouted, "Castle, wait!"

Castle turned around to see Beckett coming toward him. This time she grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him into an interrogation room. She slammed the door shut, wound her arms around his neck, and before she could make up some reason as to why she was doing this, she kissed him.

Castle dropped the coat that he was holding and wrapped his arms around Beckett. He couldn't help but smile against her lips. _This_ felt right, kissing Natalie felt nothing like kissing Beckett. Although he sort of knew that, he wasn't objecting to how Beckett was showing him.

Beckett pulled back from Castle and looked down. Her senses had come back from wherever they had been when she decided kissing him would be a good idea, and now she was embarrassed.

Castle's eyes slowly opened and noticed Beckett wasn't looking at him. He brought one finger under her chin and lifted her chin up so she was looking into his eyes.

Beckett saw a question in Castle's eyes. He was wondering why she just kissed him. He didn't look upset though, so she decided to go ahead an answer him. "I'm not sure why I just kissed you. I guess I just…I just wanted to show you that Kate Beckett is better than Nikki Heat, whether she's being played by Natalie or on the pages of your books."

Castle smiled, moving his hand to cup her cheek, gently letting his thumb stroke her cheekbone. "I already knew that. I'm not complaining though. In fact, I think you may need to show me again…"

Beckett gave her signature eye roll at his statement. "Shut up, Castle." She did kiss him again though, and that's all Castle really wanted anyway.

-%

"That's big," Castle said, in response to Ryan's proposal to Jenny.

"And so intimate," Beckett agreed, trying not to cry. She loved Ryan and was so glad Jenny said yes.

Castle looked at her with a sparkle in his eye. "You liked that, huh?" He bent his head and his lips brushed her ear, sending a small shiver down her spine. "Good to know."

_It might have been better without the last part, but I wanted that part to be in there since I started this. I thought of the ending before I even thought of the beginning, and I just had to write it! I hope you enjoyed it and please leave me a review, because I'm kind of nervous about his story, since it's my first Caskett fic. Please review…even if you didn't like it…you can always tell me what to fix! _


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